The 2023 Cadillac Escalade V-Series Is Big in Every Way

General Motors is in the lunacy business. So much insanity is going on there that the Cadillac Escalade V-Series—a full-size, full-frame, truck-based SUV that is powered by a 682-hp, supercharged, 6.2-liter V-8—seems reasonable in comparison to a few other GM products. Even though, at a base price of $151,090 the V-Series is $69,900 more costly than a base Escalade.

It’s also $94,995 more expensive than a base Chevrolet Tahoe. And, come on, there’s an awful lot of Tahoe in the Escalade V-Series.

On a per unit basis, the Escalade V-Series and its longer-wheelbase, three-row brother the Escalade ESV V-Series (a supercharged Suburban), must be the most profitable vehicles GM makes. By far. Maybe back when GM was building locomotives, there was more profit on each of those. But once sales volumes are considered, GM is printing staggering amounts of moolah with the Escalade and particularly with the V-Series variant. Stag-ger-ing.

That’s why the Escalade V-Series matters to GM. Why it matters to anyone else is that it's big, stupid, and stupendous fun. This is warehouse-class SUV that pushes its blunt, smug face and hauls its massive, 6217-pound ass to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds. Its exhaust roars with pride, there’s an audible supercharger whine for menace, and it rolls on thick 275/50R22 Bridgestone Alenza A/S 02 all-season tires around wheels of the appropriately stylish diameter. It is all of the most arrogant things rendered in shiny sheet steel and shiny plastic on shiny wheels. So, of course, the first thing many new Escalade owners do is have theirs covered in a matte wrap.

What’s clearly best about the Escalade V-Series is that supercharged 6.2-liter V-8. Best, however, isn’t always what’s most impressive. And it is how well the latest GM full-size SUV platform uses that additional power that is most satisfying.

The big move for the 2021 redesign of the GM jumbos was the adoption of an independent rear suspension. It’s about as straightforward design as an IRS can get. Four links—two outboard running forward longitudinally with the frame and two lateral links that pivot at the center of the truck above the differential. The springs (airbags in this case) are positioned outboard inside the hub carriers. It’s simple and space efficient.

Because an independent system doesn’t need the space a solid axle does to swing across its length, the latest Escalade has a lower load floor. But IRS doesn’t turn Gigantor-class frigates into road tearing sport cars. Isolating the ride motions of each wheel helps with ride quality and noise isolation and a lot of other things. This Escalade feels planted. Throw in air springs, zippy active dampers, and an aggressive stability control system, and it’s a body-on-frame machine that’s rugged enough to use the monster power it carries. But handle? The steering is still slow and kind of numb, the mass is vast, and adhesion limits are modest.

Adding big power to previous GM big SUVs with aftermarket parts (like a supercharger) almost invariably came with some compromise in manners. The tail would hop, the frame could be felt twisting, or some odd resonance would riffle through the body. None of that happens with this V-Series.